Sherae Honeycutt

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Original Post

Three months since the shooting at Tequila KC, Wyandotte County prosecutors filed capital murder charges against the two suspects on Wednesday.

The deadly KCK shooting happened early Oct. 6, leaving four dead and five others injured.

The alleged shooters, Hugo Villanueva-Morales and Javier Alatorre, were both originally charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Alatorre was captured shortly after the shooting, but it wasn’t until mid-December when Villanueva-Morales was captured in Mexico and brought back to the US.

Now Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said the county will instead pursue a capital murder charge against both men.

“We will fight for justice for every victim in these cases,” Dupree said.

Prosecutors also charged Villanueva-Morales and Alatorre with several new counts Wednesday: one count of first-degree attempted murder, six counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated assault and one count of criminal possession of a firearm.

The two men now face 10 total charges each. Dupree said Villanueva-Morales may face more charges later for fleeing the country.

Capital murder means Villanueva-Morales and Alatorre could face the death penalty if convicted. After the suspects’ arraignments on these new charges, Dupree’s office has seven days to decide whether it will pursue the death penalty.

“That is something that I do not take lightly and that I will speak to the family members more about,” Dupree said.

The DA said the details of this case meet the state’s criteria for capital murder charges.

“I believe that those facts devastated our community and the family members and the victims in this case, and whatever our law allows to try to help mend the pain, I think is what we should do,” he said.